Midwest Musclecar Challenge **May 29th & 30th**
 

RideTech and Bowler Performance Transmissions are proud to announce the inaugural running of the Midwest Musclecar Challenge. The Midwest Musclecar Challenge will provide a dynamic proving ground to test the handling and road manners of some of America’s best-built musclecars.

The Midwest Musclecar Challenge is a four-element event open to domestic 1978 and prior model year vehicles. The event will be run on May 29th &30th at two of the Midwest’s premier facilities, Putnam Park Road Course, in Mount Meridian Indiana, and the Mid-American Air Center, located in Lawrenceville, Illinois. The four elements include road course, street driving, autocross and a speed-stop challenge.

The high horsepower fun will begin on Saturday with the BFGoodrich Hot Lap Challenge. Putnam Park Road Course is a 1.87-mile, 10 turn, highly technical facility. A full day on the road course assures everyone plenty of track time and there will be instruction available for novices or those that want to improve their existing skills.

The track day will be followed by the Bowler Performance Transmissions 99-mile cruise that will wind its way through the scenic byways of southern Indiana and Illinois. Utilizing primarily two lane highways and county roads, this element will highlight the road handling manners of the vehicles and give all the participants an opportunity to relax after a day at the track.

Bowler’s 99-mile cruise will conclude on Saturday night with the world famous RideTech Bar-B-Que rib feast. Socializing and bench racing are the two primary items on the agenda for the evening.

Sunday morning promises lots of activity for the day and the Mid-American Air Center is the ideal location to continue the high-octane extravaganza!

The nearly unlimited size of the Air Center allows for the creation of a one-of-a-kind RideTech Street Challenge Autocross course that will thrill both the drivers and spectators and push the entries to the ragged edge of performance.

The Baer Brakes speed-stop challenge also promises to be an exciting event as we test the limits of acceleration, braking and driver skills all at the same time! The “stop box” will be the ultimate proof of mechanical functionality and driver talent.

If that’s not enough RPM to put you into the rev limiter, The Midwest Musclecar Challenge will also include a non-judged show-n-shine area to showcase some of the most beautiful automotive craftsmanship on the planet.

Registration for the event will open February 1, 2010 and will be limited to the first 60 entries. Entry fee is $250 before April 1, $300 after April 1 and $350 the day of the event. Entry includes one vehicle, two adults and dinner on Saturday. Stand-alone show-n-shine entries are $25 and include two adults and dinner.

Bowler Performance Transmissions, RideTech, Baer Brakes and BFGoodrich are proud sponsors of the Midwest Musclecar Challenge. The event is produced by FM3 Performance Marketing.

Corporate sponsorship is available; please email Bret Voelkel at [email protected], or Mark Bowler at [email protected] for more information.

For a complete set of rules and registration requirements, please visit www.midwestmusclecarchallenge.com.

Awesome Jimi - looks like it will be a great event! :thumbsup:

Yes it promises to be a great time. Both venues are really cool and the 99 mile cruise is going to be awesome. We should have registration forms up on the site next week.

Count me in.. gonna be a busy summer..

1. Flatlands event
2. This event
3. Motorstate event
4. Holley LSx event in Sept
5. RTTH
6. Optima after SEMA

Damn... glad I'm rebuilding the car!

You suck.....

Busy
 

Sounds like you need to get a rental pad in the midwest...

Tom

Well it can hang out at Lane Automotive for the Gingerman deal and Holley said they would hold it for the LSx deal in Sept.

And I know Bowler would find a spot for thier event.. The rest will be favors and paying people gas money and such to help move her about.

I can't tell you how much fun it is to show up at an event and have your car there.

There are SO MANY cool events this summer.. this is the golden age of hot rodding in my opinion.

So I've been told.. often..

Count me in.:thumbsup:

Hey Steve,

As long as I have room at the house or shop we can keep her in Indy if need be.

Mike Norris

Thanks Mike.. You can fine tune the 454 while she's there.

Once Nick's Orange Krate is done we're going to have you fiddle with that as well.

I believe Bowler is doing the Days at the Strip show again in July so better put that on the list.

Is that the one I went to last year with the unlimited autox laps? If so I'm flyin' out.. lol

And my car needs to be in CA May 15/16 for the Costa Mesa Goodguys to defend my Editors Challenge deal.

It's starting to make me dizzy.. lol

LOL ---

why the cut off at 1978? why not finish the decade to 1979? or is it to keep fox body Mustangs and their vast amount of modern tech out of such competitions?

The event is specifically designed to focus on muscle cars. No offense intended to post 1978 vehicles or Fox body Mustangs. There are a lot of events designed for later model vehicles put on by NASA, SCCA, Time Attack, etc - we wanted to create something especially for the muscle car guys.

Sounds like a blast, we'll be there in force....

Registration is now open.

http://www.midwestmusclecarchallenge.com/?page_id=13

Note that the show-n-shine thing is a non-judged event. We just want to let everyone check out your ride. Besides...$25 is not bad for a prime parking spot, entry to the events, AND a kickass rib feast on Saturday night. Now you can let your minivan at home and bring your hotrod [even if you're not ready to race yet].

See you all there!

Just signed up!

This is going to be AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now...I'd like to make sure my car is safe. It only has lap belts (69 Camaro).

I'd like a way to put a 5 point in, but don't want to limit the back seat.

Hey guys - can you help me plan and prepare???

I'll be driving over from Illinois with my wife.

Will there be air on site to adjust tire pressure, or do I need to bring a tank/compressor?

Access to a jack, or do I need to carry one?

Is there a shaded area to put stuff while the car is running?

There are plenty of shaded areas at Putnam Park, not much shade at Mid-American Air Center, it's an airport and they frown on tall green obstructions!:yes:

I would bring everything you need for pitting or making adjustments to your car as there is no formal pits at either venue.

Bowler Performance Transmissions and Ridetech are proud to announce that The Midwest Musclecar Challenge will be televised on Fox Sports Net in June of 2010! :woot:

Our group will be working closely with Masters Entertainment, creators of the Mother's Car Show Series, Inside Drag Racing and countless other automotive programs. Masters TV will be on-site to capture all the action of the Midwest Musclecar Challenge to produce a 30 minute special to air in June on the Mother's Car Show Series. They will also be producing a full length DVD that will be available immediately following the telecast that will include bonus footage from the event not seen on television.

If you haven't already, be sure to register for the event and take your shot at fame and glory!! Check www.midwestmusclecarchallenge.com for more exciting announcements in the upcoming weeks." :thumbsup:

Okay, I appreciate the extra info. My car hauler has a bum wheel bearing that I don't trust...even if I did trust it, we can't figure out the logistics as I want my wife to ride with me on the 99 mile cruise and not follow in the truck/trailer. Plus, we live in Illinois, so we're headed into Indiana, then back over, then we'd have to go back over to get the truck/trailer.

Kind of like the chicken, fox, and bag of seed issue when trying to cross the creek in a boat! LOL

I do plan on running the car hard, and will obviously need to bring my back up tools, supplies, and luggage - so the trailer option would be optimal for that - but stink for everything else. The 1st gen trunk space gets small real quick.

We are going to bring my six year old son as well. Not fair that he stay at home when he could watch the car on the track. He is just now getting into NASCAR and loves Kevin Harvick. We'll have to see if we can assign a number 29 for me door to make sure he is cheering for the right car!

By the way - my racing helmet (custom paint job) is about 8 years old and falls outside of the current ratings.

I didn't see anything in the rules about checking the DOT on the helmet - will it be okay to run one that isn't the current model?

Seems like more people are starting to thaw out from the miserable winter! We have 12 people entered right now and we are still 70 days away from the event. I know a lot of people are still unsure if there care will be ready by that time, but look at it as motivation to get the darn thing done! I know if I don't have a deadline I can't seem to get anything done. Who can honestly tell me that the last 2 weeks before a major event wasn't late nights and a bunch of red label shipping to get the car ready?
We have offered a $50 discount for signing up before April 1 [$250 before April 1, $300 after]. We did that because it helps us plan for T shirts, food, and all the other bazillion details that are dependant on how many people will be there. Don't loose the opportunity to save some money...sign up today. Remember, we are doing TV filming at this event as well. I am assuming that no one is allergic to being on TV, right?

Here's the helmet rule -

1) Helmet use is to be required during any competitive event with the exception of street driving.

We didn't specify the Snell rating but most track day events require the use of a Snell 2005 certified helmet. Use your own judgement - maybe it's time to retire the cool custom painted helmet and drop a couple dead presidents on a new one.

Okay then I'll use my judgement - the last competitive driving event I was in...I was able to use it - we'll leave it at that then (which was just a little before 2005...LOL).

I talked one of my friends into signing up with his killer 66 Vette with a set of custom 18 wheels/tires. The rest is bone stock and he wants to see what the car will do. Stock the 66 Vette with four wheel four piston fixed caliper brakes and full independent suspension did well it its day vs. the other door slammers that rolled out of Detroit. I think he will have a blast.

Trying to get a few other's to sign on. Two of my co-worker's cars are too far out to be done in time.

I have another co-worker with a cosworth Vega - pretty neat car, and I think it would be blast. Problem is he doesn't have decent wheels and tires so he is opting out.

Working on it though.

So I’m kicking around the idea of going to this event but would like to ask what needs to be done with the cars at night. Will they be left at track or does a person need to haul it back and forth. The reason I ask is I don’t have an enclosed trailer and this could be a huge issue for me if I were to sign up for this event. Any info would be nice and thanks in advance!

You wont have to leave it anywhere. The track day is on Saturday followed by the Bowler cruise. The cruise ends with dinner at the park which is literally minutes from the hotel. Park at the hotel - plenty of room. The autocross/speed-stop/show-n-shine all happens on Sunday at Mid-American Air Center 9 miles from the hotel.

Ok, I'm confused I was under the impression that:
* you drive to Putnam park on Saturday run the track
* drive the 99 mile cruise to Laweranceville, eat dinner
* stay in Laweranceville overnight
* wake up Sunday for Autocross and Events

Please correct me if I have this wrong?

Thats close - the cruise goes to Vincennes where we will have the Flowmaster Rib Feast. The hotel is also in Vincennes which is 9 miles from Mid American Air Center. You're welcomed to leave your truck/trailer at Mid American on Saturday night, park at the hotel and drive over on Sunday morning, or you can put your car in your trailer Saturday night either place.

New incentives from Bret at Ridetech:

"Hi guys…just now getting a chance to write a few thoughts. As we discussed briefly on Sunday, I would like to set up an offer to store up to 6 participants cars at our facility between the Face Off event on May 1 and the MMC event on May 30 for those who would enter both events. We could even extend that a bit further if they wanted to stay for the Power Tour and/or the Motorstate event in June. Here is a schedule of events in the area that might be of interest for this type vehicle/owner:

April 30-May 2 – Face Off at Road America – 7 hours from Jasper
May 8-9 – 10/10ths track day at Putnam Park – 2 hours from Jasper http://www.1010thsmotorsports.com/page/page/5236308.htm
May 21-23 GoodGuys Nashville – 3 hours from Jasper
May 29-30 Midwest Musclecar Challenge – 1 hour from Jasper
June 5-12 HotRod Power Tour – Iowa to Alabama
June 18-20 Motorstate Challenge – 5 hours from Jasper
July 9-11 Goodguys Columbus – 5 hours from Jasper

We are 75 miles from the Louisville airport. If the flights are coordinated I can even arrange a group ride from the airport to our shop."

A way generous offer guys - don't miss out, no excuses about storage now!! Thanks for the offer Bret.

Need a little more info so we can get our hotel reservations straight.

What time do we need to arrive on Saturday at the track?

For Saturday night - which hotel is the nearest/center of ...activities for the dinner..etc

Thanks!

BTW- getting the dyno tune on the Camaro Friday...so watch out guys...I'll be maximized and optimized...now, if I just knew how to drive the car well I'd be in good shape!

At the track at 8 am so we can start running at 9, hotel info for Saturday is at
http://www.midwestmusclecarchallenge.com

Really looking forward to this event - a full day of track time!!

After reviewing the various comments posted on the Pro Touring and Lateral G forums it seems the main concerns are as follows:

concerned about driving skill
concerned about being slow or looking like a novice
concerned about hurting their car
Too little track time for the time and expense required
No reason to go /nothing to see if you are not racing
Driving Distance
Hopefully the information below will address some of these concerns:


Mothers Car show – We know there are lots of guys who have a keen interest in this kind of event but don’t want to subject themselves or their car to an all out track assault...slow, fast, or otherwise. The car show portion of the MMC is designed to give hotrodders a way to participate without putting their car on the track. Pre-registering for the MMC car show gets you a goody bag [with all the swag inside!] 2 Flowmaster RibFeast meal tickets, and a prime parking spot while you are watching the track activities. Although there won’t be any “trophies”, we will select 5 cars from this group to be featured on the Mothers Car Show that is being filmed at this event!

Bowler 99 Mile cruise – The only performance criteria for this segment is that you drive your car from Putnam Park to the Flowmaster Ribfeast to demonstrate that you actually have a street car and not a race car. There is no time criteria and the points award is minimal. If you break something at Putnam Park, trailering your car to RibFeast will only impose a minimal penalty.

BFG Hot Laps Road course Segment

Tire rules – We understand that this is primarily a street car event and that the drivers have limited on-track experience, especially with sticky tires. That is why we have decided to have everyone run a 200 treadwear tire [or harder]. We feel this provides the best chance for “mainstream” street cars [driven by non-professional drivers] to exhibit their cababilities safely.

The runoff area is large, flat, and grassy to make even to most inexperienced hotrodder comfortable with pushing their car and themselves to go a little faster.

Novice run groups – There will be 3 run groups at the MMC – Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced. You can indicate which run group you prefer when you pre register . That way you will be combined with people and cars of similar experience and speeds so no one gets run over…or unnecessarily slowed down.

Track time - As the day goes on [and people inevitably drop out to rest their cars or themselves] we may combine some of these run groups and/or allow people to change run groups to increase your track time potential. If every run group is filled [and stays that way all day] you will get at least 6 sessions of 15 minutes each. Lap time at Putnam Park is approx. 1:30-1:40, so each session will get you around 10 laps. Shorter sessions are easier on the car and the driver, and allow ample time to rest and make vehicle checks and adjustments.

Timing runs – For the Road course portion of the event, we are providing transponders for each participant to offer accurate, reliable lap times. We will record all of your laps with the fasted lap determining your ranking at the end of the day. This way you can spend most of the day practicing/tuning/learning to drive without the pressure to make every lap count.

Spectre Top Speed Challenge – During the BFG Hot Lap sessions we will be recording top speeds for the Spectre Top Speed Challenge.

RideTech Street Challenge Autocross Segment

The autocross track will be approx. 50-60 seconds long for most cars. You will likely use 2nd and possibly 3rd gear on this course, and reach speed of up to 60 mph in some spots. The runoff area is huge so you’ll be able to let it hang out without fear of running into anything solid.

We will be able to run 2 cars on the autocross at the same time so you will get LOTS of track time here. Again, every run will be recorded with your fastest time determining your final ranking, so there is no pressure to make every lap count. Theoretically, if the full roster of cars makes every lap you should get 12 runs in that day. In reality, it will likely be closer to 20 runs because not everyone will want to run every time it’s their turn. You will get a time slip for every lap so you can tune your car and yourself.

Baer Brakes Speed-Stop Challenge

The format will be as follows:
Accelerate from the starting line for approximately 800 feet to the brake zone marker cones
Stop within the confines of the 40 foot long x 20 foot wide stop box.
The object is to get to the stop box [and stop within it] as quickly as possible. This will be a test of both your acceleration abilities and your braking abilities. Think of it as a drag race where you have to stop completely within a designated box! Each participant will get as many runs as time allows to optimize their times.

Awards – The RideTech Street Challenge Autocross and the Baer Speed Stop Challenge will end at 4:00 CST. We will have an awards ceremony at 5:00 CST so everyone can get an early start for home and enjoy the rest of the Memorial Day weekend.

In addition to the segment winners we will crown an overall Midwest Musclecar Challenge “King of the Hill”. In addition to the product prizes this person will receive a beautiful lettermans jacket with the MMC logo on the back and their mane and date on the front so you can show off your accomplishment to all your friends!

General information
· Trailer and RV parking – both Putnam Park and the Lawrenceville Mid America Airport have plenty of trailer and RV parking. There will be no overnight parking at the Putnam Park facility but camping WILL be allowed at Lawrenceville. The airport also offer secured trailer parking for Saturday night. There are NO RV hookups or dumps at either facility.

· Consessions and bathrooms – There will be GOOD food available at both Putnam Park and at Lawrenceville. You are certainly welcome to bring your own, but if you don’t, we won’t let you starve! Putnam Park has nice restroom facilities and trash containers. We will have a good supply of CLEAN port-a-johns at Lawrenceville.

· Optima Invitational – The Midwest Musclecar Challenge is a QUALIFIER event for the year end Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational. ONE vehicle will be chosen to represent the MMC event at this year end invitational. It will LIKELY be the overall winner, but only if the overall winner has not already qualified, AND is willing to make the commitment to travel to Las Vegas in November to participate in this televised event.

You DO NOT have to make yourself eligible for the Optima Ultimate Streetcar Invitational to participate in the Midwest Musclecar Challenge. It will have NO effect on the scoring or the outcome of the MMC event at all. It merely provides an OPPORTUNITY for you to be included in Las Vegas event.


Remember the goal here is to have fun with your family and your car. Going fast is optional, and but a happy coincidence!

Now that you know just a little more about the event...here is how to get in on the fun: http://www.midwestmusclecarchallenge.com/?page_id=13
__________________

I posted this on P-T.com yesterday.

Not sure why I didn't think of this before, but Deb and I would gladly offer anybody to stay at our place in Mooresville which looks to be less than 25 minutes away from from the Cloverdale hotels. We have a spare room with a queen bed and can kick the kids out of their rooms for more bed space. Cots and air mattresses on the floor are always optional. Trailer parking or camping is also not a problem. The only problem I forsee is our 1800' gravel driveway. I punctured the seven quart pan on the wagon when we first moved here...
Brett, you and the gang are welcome here also (maybe for a registation discount ;-)..) I still plan to register if I can stop spending money of the 66 project for more than a couple minutes!
Tom
cell: 317-502-7460

I'm excited...but now in a race against time to get there. Tore the car up on the dyno (best place to break your car...;) ) and am hoping to have all parts and pieces together with re-dyno...and shake down before the event. Tick...tock...clock is ticking!

By the way...Anybody else bringing young kids? We still can't decide if our six year old will stay or come with us. It would be great if there were some other kids there for that reason.

All my personal stuff is in peces right now, I needed a driver, The Air Ride equiped Bull Racer Racer came back to its second home yesterday (Prodigy Customs)and Owner Ted, his dad and I will be bringing The Bull Run Racer and running the track.

Ted will be getting used to his new 6 speed, were looking to have a good time and represent Air Ride with pride. Poet and I don't know it.

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/DSC04156.jpg

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...Atalladega.jpg

Hey guys!

Looks like I'll have the transmission back in the car in a couple of days and should be ready to roll again.

After giving it more thought we are going to leave my son with a sitter over the weekend so it will just be me and my wife. Realized my helmet won't cut the SA2000/2005 standard so I got a pair coming that should be here just in time as well. Found a decent deal on some Pyrotect open face SA2005 models. If any of you haven't yet gotten the correct kind - time is running out.

http://www.pyrotect.com/image.php?type=D&id=28

We also decided we are going to drive the car to the event instead of trailer - with some tools in a tote and a prayer that we don't break anything bad enough that we can't limp it back home. Hoping I can bum some air as needed though so we can adjust tire pressure up for the track and back down for the ride.